Donalyn Miller is a 6th grade language arts teacher in Texas who is said to have a "gift": She can turn even the most reluctant (or, in her words, "dormant") readers into students who can't put their books down.
Donalyn is the author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child (Jossey-Bass/Education Week Press). She first appeared in teachermagazine.org in the popular"Creating Readers" Ask The Mentor column. She writes about how to inspire and motivate student readers, and responds to issues facing teachers and other leaders in the literacy field.

Book-a-Day Challenge Wrap-up Post

What an amazing month August has been! I presented seven staff developments speeches and workshops-- working and speaking with dedicated, hard-working teachers in Lousiana, Texas, and Iowa. We shared our goals for improving students' reading motivation and engagement and looked ahead to the new school year.

I co-hosted a Twitter chat, #titletalk, with outstanding high school teacher and book guru, Paul W. Hankins. Our beginning question, "How do we promote independent reading in our classrooms?" sparked a flurry of management tips, lesson ideas, and book titles from teachers, librarians, and authors all over the world. We plan to hold another #titletalk chat soon.

As a close-of-summer surprise, I learned last week that I am one of three finalists for Texas' Elementary Teacher of the Year. I am honored and thrilled to receive recognition from my peers and community along with other incredible teachers in my state. On the same day I received the announcement, I met many of my new students at our campus Meet the Teacher Night. What a memorable day! I predict another wonderful year for my students and me.

In spite of my hectic schedule this past month, I kept reading! In my final Book-a-Day Challenge post, I share the 58 titles I read over the past four weeks. My Book-a-Day total is 135 for the 77 days of summer vacation. I packed up most of the books and took them to school. My new students were amazed that I read so many books this summer and clamored to check out these books as soon as possible. It makes me smile to see them carrying around their new books friends.

Here are the books I read since my last Book-a-Day Challenge post. Starred entries indicate special favorites.

I hope you have enjoyed your summer reading. I know I have. I also met some wonderful Twitter and blog compatriots who posted updates about their own personal reading challenges all summer. Reluctant to end our #bookaday posts, many continue to tweet their reading updates. You can continue to find titles under #bookaday and #bookaweek.

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